India: No SC relief for Justice Karnan

The Supreme Court has refused to accept Calcutta high court judge C S Karnan‘s writ petition challenging the validity of the apex court’s contempt proceedings against him which led to his conviction and six-month sentence.

A bench of the seven senior-most judges headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar had on May 9 directed West Bengal police to forthwith take Justice Karnan into custody to serve the six month imprisonment awarded to him after being found guilty of grave contempt of the SC and judiciary. Eleven days later, the police are yet to carry out the SC’s order.
But between May 9 and May 11, Justice Karnan through counsel Mathews J Nedumpara first moved an application seeking recall of the May 9 order and followed it up with a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of the proceedings.

Not satisfied with these pleas before the SC, he sent a petition to the President on May 17 seeking suspension or stay of the SC’s judgment convicting and sentencing him.